Editor's Note As robotic-assisted surgery continues to expand across specialties, perioperative nurses are driving operational excellence, clinical outcomes, and team coordination—often serving as the linchpin of these high-tech surgical programs. According to an April 16 article from the Cleveland Clinic, the health system’s robotic surgery program illustrates how nurses are…

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Editor's Note Opening a hospital-affiliated ambulatory surgery center (ASC) can shift healthier patients out of the hospital without compromising outcomes for those who remain, according to a new study published in the Journal of the AAOS Global Research & Reviews in April 2025. The retrospective analysis from Luminis Health Anne…

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The kind of Navy-taught leadership Brian Dawson, MSN, RN-BC, CNOR, CSSM, taps into is straightforward. “If you’re going to lead 3,500 people to move to the left when you need them to, you better know how to get them to see your goals as their goals,” he says during a…

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Editor's Note According to a May 2025 Canadian Medical Association Journal study, creating centralized waitlists for hip and knee replacements can cut surgical wait times without increasing costs or expanding OR capacity, CBC News May 20 reports. The study, led by David Urbach, MD, MSC, head of the surgery department…

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Editor's Note Targeted training in non-technical skills significantly improves scrub practitioners’ self-efficacy—particularly in communication, teamwork, and situational awareness—according to a new randomized controlled trial published by BMC Medical Education on May 7. As reported in the study, 60 scrub practitioners from two Iranian hospitals were randomly assigned to intervention and…

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Editor's Note Unnecessary traffic, workflow interruptions, and lapses in protocol in the OR increase the risk of surgical site infections (SSIs), according to an April 23 article in Infection Control Today. While sterile technique, antibiotic use, and instrument cleanliness remain front-line defenses against infection, authors Katharine J. Hoffman, MPH, CIC, and…

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Editor's Note HST Pathways’ most recent industry report, discussed on the Advancing Surgical Care Podcast by HST CEO David Thawley and Bill Prentice, CEO of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA), offers insights into cardiology and orthopedic procedures done in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in 2024, Ambulatory Surgery Center News…

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Editor's Note Machine learning (ML) is enhancing OR efficiency by optimizing scheduling, predicting surgical durations, and reducing delays, according to a systematic review published February 21 in Cureus. However, privacy concerns, data access limitations, and the need for further validation remain barriers to widespread implementation. The review analyzed 21 studies…

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Editor's Note An artificial intelligence (AI) tool is showing significant promise in reducing the administrative workload for nurses and clinical partners on a 48-bed surgical unit at Cedars-Sinai, according to a February 12 Cedars-Sinai Newsroom Q&A with Rachel Coren, MPH, MS, vice president and associate chief information officer, and Peachy…

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Editor's Note The OR Business Management Conference this year for the first time offered a lineup of sessions that was fully dedicated to content relevant to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). In this session, Collin Pick, MSN, CRNA, ARNP, CMPE, chief of anesthesia, Physician Partners of America, explored the ongoing anesthesia…

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